Brumbies, Cats and Stormers notch round-one wins

BRUMBIES 32 CRUSADERS 21

Their coach reckoned the Crusaders are further advanced than 12 months ago, but Justin Marshall admitted the team were bitterly disappointed not to pole-axe an injury-ravaged Brumbies in a heavyweight battle.

Notorious as competition slow starters, the Crusaders wilted after an imposing first spell to a Brumbies side robbed of two key players, captain Stirling Mortlock and wing Clyde Rathbone, before halftime at Canberra Stadium.

When Mortlock, with knee and groin problems, and a concussed Rathbone headed to the sideline, it all seemed to be falling into place for the four-time champions, who had already banked tries by Andrew Mehrtens and Casey Laulala inside the first quarter.

However, the 35th-minute yellow-carding of hooker Corey Flynn for rucking - one of several contentious decisions by South African referee Mark Lawrence - changed the momentum of the game as free-wheeling lock Radike Samo and unheralded No 8 Scott Fava scored either side of the break to turn a 10-6 deficit to a 10-point advantage for the home side.

The Brumbies were ruthless while the All Blacks hooker was sinbinned, and as the pressure mounted the Crusaders' error rate rose in unison, stifling their attempt to re-establish dominance.

Penalised heavily at the breakdown, the Crusaders had a running battle with Lawrence throughout the clash and were also befuddled by Fava's 48th-minute touchdown.

The defensive line were caught flat-footed when Fava appeared to pick the ball from a ruck when off his feet before skipping over the line.

"Richie [captain McCaw] questioned him about it, he [Lawrence] said the ball was out," Marshall said.

"Fava was on the ground, he didn't appear to be on his feet when he picked the ball up.

"How do you defend that when he picks the ball up from the middle of the ruck?"

While coach Robbie Deans was reluctant to assess the referee's performance, Marshall was more forthright, claiming the Crusaders were disadvantaged at the tackle as Lawrence allowed the Brumbies to slow down the recycling.

"He didn't help our flow because we were trying to be constructive and run the ball. They were really effective at slowing our ball down.

"They were a nuisance in there. I thought they were doing it illegally. I thought they were off their feet playing the ball," Marshall said.

Refereeing puzzles aside, Marshall acknowledged the damage was also self-inflicted, especially after the break when the lineout malfunctioned and turnovers escalated.

"We have to be more disciplined. We gave away a lot of penalties and turned over a hell of a lot of ball.

"It's a real down-to-earth eye opener for us."

The reality is the Crusaders may never get a better chance to trump their rivals considering the Brumbies were forced to field an inexperienced back division for the bulk of the match.

Matt Giteau was missing with a broken hand, to go with Mortlock and Rathbone's problems.

In their place Gene Fairbanks, who had had just one Super 12 game for the Reds in 2003, and first-timer Adam Ashley-Cooper more than held their end up against All Blacks Aaron Mauger and Laulala.

Sam Norton-Knight, a back-up pivot, made his debut on the wing but was rarely troubled.

"I think they showed they have depth and that's frightening for a lot of other sides," Marshall said.


CATS 23 BULLS 17

The Cats, inspired by 18 points from first five-eighth Andre Pretorius, were too good for the Bulls in Johannesburg yesterday.

Pretorius scored a superb solo try and put over two conversions and three penalties, while his kicking for touch was also brilliant as he shone in an outstanding defensive display by the Cats.

Two tries in the first four minutes of the second half, by Pretorius and centre Jorrie Muller, took the Cats - who had produced an error-ridden first half - into a 23-10 lead after they had trailed by a point at halftime.

The Bulls then put the Cats tryline under siege, but they could only cross for a try after 67 minutes when wing Bryan Habana sped past the cover defence after centre Ettienne Botha had put him in the gap with a neat inside pass.

The Bulls came within inches of snatching victory in the 78th minute when fullback Johan Roets, the visitors' outstanding player, was tackled into the corner flag by Tiaan Snyman, the Cats' replacement fullback.

The Bulls' first-half try went to flanker Jacques Cronje, while first five-eighth Derick Hougaard kicked seven points.


STORMERS 26 SHARKS 12

Springbok wings Breyton Paulse and Jean de Villiers scored three tries between them as the Stormers cleaned out the Sharks in Cape Town on Saturday.

Two penalties from first five-eighths Gaffie du Toit gave the Stormers a 6-0 lead before Sharks centre Trevor Halstead broke through the tackles of Springbok centres De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert to set up Butch James for a try.

Paulse scored the first of his two tries four minutes before the interval after Joubert intercepted an overthrown Sharks pass on halfway.

De Villiers stretched the lead when he ran on to a Du Toit up-and-under to score in the lefthand corner in the 52nd minute.

Paulse then made the game safe four minutes later when he collected De Villiers' grubber kick to run in from 20 metres. Lock Nico Breedt narrowed the gap with a late try for the Sharks.

- REUTERS